StockNews.com Downgrades Camden Property Trust (NYSE:CPT) to Sell

StockNews.com cut shares of Camden Property Trust (NYSE:CPT - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Thursday.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on CPT. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Camden Property Trust from $121.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Camden Property Trust from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $129.00 to $128.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Camden Property Trust from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Camden Property Trust from $127.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Camden Property Trust from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $126.53.

Camden Property Trust Price Performance

CPT traded down $0.92 during trading on Thursday, reaching $119.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 805,388 shares, compared to its average volume of 877,583. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $115.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $119.31. The company has a market cap of $12.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.95, a PEG ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.94. Camden Property Trust has a 1 year low of $92.26 and a 1 year high of $127.69.

Camden Property Trust (NYSE:CPT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.05. Camden Property Trust had a return on equity of 3.35% and a net margin of 10.58%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Camden Property Trust will post 6.76 EPS for the current year.

Camden Property Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $1.05 dividend. This is an increase from Camden Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.50%. Camden Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is 274.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Camden Property Trust news, Director Heather J. Brunner sold 264 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.06, for a total transaction of $29,055.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,130,646.38. This represents a 2.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Alexander J. Jessett sold 13,067 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.50, for a total transaction of $1,496,171.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 124,246 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,226,167. This trade represents a 9.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 25,413 shares of company stock worth $2,895,718 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Camden Property Trust

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CPT. National Pension Service acquired a new stake in shares of Camden Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Camden Property Trust by 76.6% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 226 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC grew its position in Camden Property Trust by 87.0% during the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 245 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the period. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Camden Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Camden Property Trust during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.22% of the company's stock.

About Camden Property Trust

Camden Property Trust, an S&P 500 Company, is a real estate company primarily engaged in the ownership, management, development, redevelopment, acquisition, and construction of multifamily apartment communities. Camden owns and operates 172 properties containing 58,250 apartment homes across the United States.